Does anyone know a way to protect cables where they go over sharp edges which can't easily be reached (without v. long ladder / safety harness / scaffolding) ?
Some kind of gizmo attached to the cable then positioned on the edge?
Often I see cables which have just been left to swing in the wind.
In article , Windmill writes
Where I've been forced to do this I've used adhesive lined heatshrink sleeving[1] on the cable over the bearing part. From memory prob 12mm bore but even then it's a bugger to get it over the cable to right location. Positioning is the other issue, you have to estimate the position a leave a bit of extra slack at the roof end to make sure there will be enough cable to make off at the aerial. I used 2 overlapping
1.2m lengths to make it easier.Even with the reinforcement I made sure I had a fixing a few feet under the eaves and a fixing under a tile just above. Without fixings it will move about and wear through in no time.
Let me guess, a tall flatted property?
[1] Generally thicker walled and more resilient
You can take a piece of small-bore rubber pipe such as petrol pipe for lawnmowers or what have you, and slit it length-wise. The slit can then be opened, and superglued over the edge of the gutter. A sort of 'linear grommet', if you like. You can get the pukka stuff for protecting cable runs where they pass through holes in metal chassis and so on, but I've always used either thin rubber pipe or plastic sleeve such as from coax, in the way described.
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All you need is a short single piece of eletric cable about 9" long with the coating taken of to expose the bare wire. fold into a U shape thread the coax through and push the two end of the wire under the tiles or slates, this will pin the coax cable tight.
A piece of hosepipe slipped over the co-ax and taped with insulation tape at both ends lasted many years here.
SteveW
In one case, and even in the other it looks to be a dangerous business if one tries to get down to a gutter edge which is 30 feet above ground (hence the comment about a safety harness).
Only if you can get to the edge of the gutter with some degree of safety. Otherwise it can be a long way down, maybe as much as 70 feet in some cases.
Sounds like that might be the most abrasion-resistant method.
In article , Steve Walker writes
Yes, that sounds good. I'd prob do the taping with self amalgamating tape for grip and longevity, and put it at the top only to avoid any risk of trapped moisture.
Thinking of multiple comedy moments with the hose slipping down to ground level I'd hold it underneath temporarily with a loosely tied cable tie until the position was set.
Sounds like a very helpful suggestion, thank you.
I'd been wondering about the possibility of a contraption which somehow gripped the gutter edge, but couldn't see how to do that, and anyway it might risk blocking the gutter. This seems far better.
Comedy moments, or cursing ? :-)
That depends if I'm an observer or a participant ;-), although I do try to have a giggle at my self induced fups every now and again.
As another has mentioned it is good to fix down the cable at odd points on the roof and certainly a few feet before it goes over the edge. The traditional way is to cut a foot or so of the aerial cable, bend it double, place it over the cable to be fixed and slide the ends under a tile (lifting a little if needs be). Leave the loop slack enough so that the fixed cable isn't tight over the edge of the tile but tight enough to stop it flopping about.
This does mean you will be walking about the roof a bit so take care. I do wear a harness and work off a rope when I'm doing something like this. The risk of slipping on all but the steepest tiled roof is slight but the consequences of failure are obviously massive. You could use a static rope with a hand on it (but not leaning on it) at all times but bear in mind that having the rope there actually increases the risk of tripping. If I didn't have proper gear I would probably use a static
11mm rope round a chimney with the other end doubled and tied round my waist at such a length as to limit my travel to 3' from the edge. Watch out for the rope slipping round the chimney and giving you more slack than you think, the rope round your waist would kill you in short order if you get it wrong and end up suspended by it over the edge.For fixings on the way down, if flats then try to get access to all at once and fix the run about a out foot from the windows for minimal leaning out, that's what the riggers do.
Good luck.
That's probably what they do in a situation where all the flats are owned by the same person, but that's not the case in most of Edinburgh.
What I see, nearly everywhere, is coax over various sharp edges, with no protection, and just swinging in the wind with no support of any kind. Not good (except for repeat business).
I plan to do a bit better, but doubt if I'd be able to get access to all lower floors when/if needed.
I didn't word that at all well, I meant that _if_ they fix, it will be within 12" of the window but I did not mean to suggest that the average rigger bothers their arse to knock on the door of upper flats to get higher fixings in.
As I'm sure you can figure, the key is to get access to the top flat(s) first to get that first fix under the eaves as high as you dare (min 2, best 3 in sequential block joints). If it's plain stonework you could then fix it tightly at low level (2 or 3 again), take it into the building and tidy up the intermediate fixings when you can get access (weekend?). If you have to go over ornate stone details/shelves then you could perhaps leave the spare bundled loosely at the lower levels then try to get access in sequence top to bottom to fix it over the bumps.
This is obviously the owner's/enthusiast's approach, there's no way anyone could make any money doing it this way. The alternative is to take up abseiling.
Sounds like good advice, though I don't think I can go that far. Just wanted some way to protect from the more obvious problem of sharp-edged metal gutters.
I'm an owner, but not that much of an enthusiast!
I'm sure there are OAP abseilers, but not for me, I think. Getting up onto a flat roof hasn't been too difficult, but there are limits to what I'll tackle.
If the Council, which charged us all to install communal TV aerials long ago, had avoided destroying them later when performing communal roof repairs, several issues would never have arisen.
There ought to be a course for people like me, to teach us how to get Councils to do what they are supposed to do, and to teach us not to believe them when they claim they can't. Being a part of 'the government' seems to go to their heads, and (what's worse) many of us are tempted to accept their verdicts.
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